By: Josh McIntyre
Album
Type: Full Length
Date
Released: 27/12/2019
Label:
Abekeit, URGENCE DISK RECORDS,
Violence In The Veins & WOOAAARGH
“Demons
or Somone Else” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). XVIII Demons or Somone Else
2). XIV Divine Arrows
3). XIII Encircle The Earth
4). XV Wind & Waves
5). Atone II
6). XVI Cernes Profondes
7). XVII Oreste
8). Atone I
9). Atone III
10). XIX Protagonists / Antagonists
11). XX Wolves II
The
Review:
It’s like our Swiss friends got
together and decided to make sure 2019 was a really excellent year for heavy
music in their country. We’ve been enjoying the hell out of Rorcal and Coilguns as of late and in the
final days of the year Montecharge of Geneva dropped this
record, making it clear that it was their turn to pummel people’s ears.
Montecharge sit somewhere
between Old Man Gloom and Ken Mode, the former
largely thanks to the Caleb Scofield (RIP) sounding vocals and the latter to
the consistently angular rhythms. Like both bands, Montecharge sound huge. I think it’s safe to assume the
instruments were captured in a rather large room. It’s a brilliant choice as it
helps the synth/electronic elements sound natural as they creep and crawl
around the guitars and drums throughout the album. These elements add a nuance
that helps give the band some additional identity.
While some riffs are certainly
mosh-worthy this is still an atmospheric record. It’s a balance that will keep
both hardcore and post-metal crowds content and, overall, Montecharge sound like they could have
been on the Hydra Head label back in its heyday
right alongside Swiss vets Knut (whose “Challenger”
album is a must for mathcore and post-metal fans). Every riff is killer,
especially the first one in the final track. I only wish that, instead of
having three interlude tracks, the band had expanded on “Atone II” and
made it a complete song as it features guitar arpeggios over a trippy drum
machine beat that is simply really freaking cool sounding.
Montecharge have brought us
an excellent example of sludgy noise rock and help keep the sound relevant
decades later. The accessibility of this album must be emphasized, too, as I
suspect that most fans of aggressive music would find something to enjoy here.
“Demons or Somone Else” is
available HERE
